Paragon reports 32pc rise in BTL lending

Buy-to-let lending rose to £135.4m in the third quarter compared with £102.3m in the first six months of the year with total advances reaching £237.7m.

John Heron, director of mortgages, said: “The expansion of our funding facilities at the end of 2012 allowed us to be more competitive and we have seen the benefit of this come through in the third quarter with lending increasing by 164% on the average of the first two quarters of the year.”

The pipeline of new business stood at £220.2m at 30 June which the group said positioned the business well for the final quarter of the year.

And pre-tax profits increased by 10.2% for the period 1 October to 30 June 2013 compared to the same period last year.

Heron added: “We are in a very healthy position moving into the fourth quarter of the year with a strong pipeline of new business and an attractive range of products.”